Prosecutors file a charge of leaving the scene of an accident in the case of a hit-and-run-killing of a four-year-old boy from the Ethiopian community in a case that has roiled the country.
Rafael Adana was hit by a car while walking with his grandfather in Netanya on Shabbat on May 6. He was critically wounded and died in a hospital several days later.
The driver, 70-year-old Carol Fessler, fled the scene, later claiming she “didn’t feel” the vehicle striking anything. She turned herself in to the police several hours later and provided testimony about the car collision.
After hearing news of the charges filed, family members expressed outrage that she had avoided more serious charges of manslaughter.
“We are very sorry that the prosecutors have taken such a lenient approach with the person who killed our son,” the family says in a statement.
The case has already sparked widespread outrage and several violent protests by the Ethiopian community who have accused police and prosecutors of racism and said they were dragging their feet.
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